Interview: Campfire Ok

First, let’s all take a personal moment and watch this beautiful acoustic session at KEXP:

The band is Campfire Ok. I have not seen this band live at a club yet, but will soon (see below). Yet, thanks to their collaborative creativity, talented friends, and the internet, it feels like I already know them intimately. I found myself humming “Strange Like We Are” every morning walking to work and spending a large portion of my valuable procrastination time watching this and other videos. So I contacted them, set up an interview, and they gave me an advance copy of the debut record (also titled Strange Like We Are). My love, it expanded.

Frontman Mychal Goodweather’s bright, present vocal (think Ben Gibbard but less indulgent) leads a vast, Americana orchestra reminiscent of my favorite Sufjan Stevens records. The album’s arrangements are lush and playful – experimentive without losing either accessibility or pop sensibility. At the same time, songs like “Primp and Prune” take an opposite approach – setting up what appears to be a standard pop chorus but turning it around at the last moment to something more interesting. From a recording/engineering perspective, intensive time, care, and meticulous standards are evident in the sound of every instrument, every harmony, and every dramatic moment. The end result, however, sounds as effortless and natural as it does endearing. I am hardly the first person to say it, but expect very big things from Campfire Ok very, very soon.

It was my pleasure to sit down with frontman Mychal Goodweather at his local Stumptown Coffee and discuss the origins of Campfire Ok, the ever-changing Seattle music scene, and our place in the world as musicians. Enjoy the full interview in short mp3 clips below, and check out two of my favorite tracks from their album Strange Like We Are on the Mid By Northwest Pop-Up Radio Player. Thanks to some encouraging requests, you may also download

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“I respect all the other musicians in Seattle because they write music I don’t. It’s invaluable to listen to other people’s music. The things you pull away from it are fantastic, and I should never exclude myself from their community because they write different music that I do. In fact, I should include myself in that community because they have an idea that I don’t. It’s like school.” -Mychal Goodweather, Campfire Ok

“We’re all really weird. We’re brave, strange, complex humans. Everyone is, but we never feel that way. A community sometimes doesn’t feel like a community. Sometimes you feel like you’re on the outside but you’re really in the thick of it.” -Mychal Goodweather, Campfire Ok

MH: “What is the origin story of Campfire Ok?”

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MH: “In your own words, how would you characterize the Seattle music scene?”

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Hey! I’m Matt!

In May 2010, I moved to Seattle from Chicago. Back in Chicago I was the co-frontman of a pretty successful local band. Upon arriving in Seattle, however, I didn’t know anyone or anything about the local music scene.

This blog started as a means to explore music communities in Seattle, which was a huge personal success. From here on out it will be more personal – more of a creative outlet to help me dig into music that is affecting me. Thanks for reading and sharing these experiences with me. Read More…